Coping, rumination and posttraumatic growth in people affected by an earthquake

• Published in: Psicothema 2016, Vol.28 (1), p.59-65
• Main Authors: García, Felipe E, Cova, Félix, Rincón, Paulina, Vázquez, Carmelo, Páez, Darío
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Chile; Disasters; Earthquakes; Female; Humans; Male; Models, Psychological; Post-traumatic growth; Tsunamis
• ISSN: 0214-9915; 1886-144X
• DOI: 10.7334/psicothema2015.100

In this article, the evaluation of a structural model that seeks to identify predictors and mediators of posttraumatic growth (PTG) of people affected by a natural disaster is presented. The sample was composed of 349 adult men and women who experienced the earthquake and tsunami on February 27, 2010 in Chile. A modeling with structural equations was used, contrasting two predictive models of PTG. The latent variables assessed were subjective severity, social sharing of emotion, intrusive rumination, deliberate rumination, problem-focused coping and posttraumatic growth. The best fit was obtained with the model that shows a direct influence of the subjective severity, problem-focused coping, and deliberate rumination in the presence of PTG. Problem-focused coping mediated the relation between subjective severity and social sharing with PTG. In turn, deliberate rumination mediated the relation of problem-focused coping and intrusive rumination with PTG. The results show the relevant role of cognitive processes such as deliberate rumination and behavioral processes such as problem-focused coping in the presence of PTG.